Children of CHIPROM: Dolapo

Dolapo is an 11 year old girl with a heart of gold.
Her name means "rich woman" and although she may not be a millionaire, God has definitely blessed her with many rich and wonderful talents! She can often be heard singing around the house as she cleans up after the little ones, and also enjoys drawing and being creative. She's my artsy-soul kindred spirit :)

Right now, she is home with me while the rest of the kids are at school. She was unfortunate enough to get a bout of malaria, so she's been sleeping for most of the past two days. Pray that God will heal her up quickly, and that she can return to school soon.

{If you want to read the other Children of CHIPROM posts, click here to go to the list of names.}

Chiprom 7th Anniversary

Hello everyone!

I had a pretty awesome weekend, not going to lie to you :)

This past Sunday, we had the 7th year anniversary of Chiprom. So obviously we threw a party!

It wasn't very big by African standards, but there were about 50 people there. We sang some worship songs, and commemorated the wonderful 7 years we've been blessed with, and held a prayer for the next 70 years. God has his hand on this place, and even when there are struggles, it only teaches us to rely on Him more.

Then the kids sang! I helped them learn some of their songs, and then they also presented a play (something similar to the Good Samaritan). I was really proud of them.

And then we had the obligatory dance party, of course! I think I danced straight for two hours.. and my face was bright red, and everyone was sweating, and even though we were all pretty disgusting as far as appearances go, it was a great time. 

I really want to thank the Idowu's for all the wonderful work they've put into this place. Without their vision, Chiprom wouldn't be here. They spend so much of their time and money and energy pouring into this place, and the kids love them like their own parents. They have made my stay in Nigeria a blessed and exciting one, and I am so thankful for them!

I hope you people back home had a wonderful weekend, but I don't know if anyone can top having a dance party with Nigerian children for two hours. :)

Peace,

Sierra

Children of CHIPROM: Glory

Glory is a 12 year old girl with a heart after God, which is the most awesome thing ever. I mean, she came up to me one time and asked me if I could explain God to her. I told her I'd try to answer her questions, but I didn't have all the answers. She then asked "Well, who is God's dad? When was God born? What does heaven look like? When I die, how will it feel?" and about a million more questions similar in nature and just as hard-hitting.

She's a smart one!

I love her curiosity to know more about God, and her excitement about her questions. I often can't get all the way through my answer before she has two more questions spilling out!

She is one amazing kid. And obviously, I love her to pieces!

{If you want to read the other Children of CHIPROM posts, click here to go to the list of names.}

Sickness :(

So, sorry for the lack of updates. I've been slightly sick/ slightly without internet. But mostly sick. Since last Friday (the 13th) I've slid headfirst into a terrible cold. I'll spare you most of the details, but basically it's really a nasty head cold. Add heat on top of that, and you can see how its hard to find relief! However,    Mr. Idowu took me to the local pharmacy and bought some Amoxocillin for me so I can fight it off better. Before that I was just pumping Vitamin C and Advil into my body, but he said that wasn't enough. "If you're not from Africa, it will only get worse," he said. So we got the antibiotics.

(This is me after I took my meds. So obviously the fact that I am vertical means I was feeling better. Also, check out my dress! The angle doesn't really show the length, which is to the knee.  And also note the wall of friends and family behind me. I just stop and stare when I miss you guys :) )

This past week has also been a holiday, but we've really just stayed home all week, preparing for school and hanging out on the cold tiled floor (at least I was. I embraced all things tiled whole heartedly.) I'm really thankful that I got sick during this week because it has been cool-ish, and the kids have been home so I haven't felt lonely and sick. And now I'm getting better. PRAISE THE LORD!!

Also, we received a new little boy yesterday. His name is Success and he's 8 weeks old. I don't have any pictures of him now because he's always crying if no one's holding him. I'm going to have to time this one  well :)

Thank you everyone who prayed for me! I can now officially say I am on the mend.

Peace,

Sierra

Children of CHIPROM: Joshua and Michael

{Michael}

Joshua and Michael are the youngest twins here at Chiprom currently.  They are 4 years old, and love to play all the time.

Michael is the sweetest little boy you will ever meet. I taught him what butterfly kisses are, and now if he's ever sitting besides me, he will lean over and give me some on my cheek. He is so gentle and kind, and it just makes everyone love him. He's always the life of the party when visitors stop by, singing "Father Abraham" at the top of his lungs while doing over-the-top actions. He's just a great kid!

Joshua is a great little protector. One of the mummies brought her baby grand daughter to the home for a few days, and Joshua loves her to pieces! Anytime she sat on the floor, Joshua was right there next to her to make sure no one accidentally stepped on her. He also loves to ride his bicycle out front and often has races with his brother and Kehinde to the bottom of the driveway. Whenever he sees me in the morning, he runs straight at me with his arms outstretched, ready for a big bear-hug.

These boys are such precious gifts from God, and I love them!

{Joshua}

{If you want to read the other Children of CHIPROM posts, click here to go to the list of names.}

Pen Pals

Before I left for this trip, I had a little girl named Roni ask me if she could send a pen pal package with me to Chiprom. Of course I said YES!! What a great idea!

Today I sat down with two girls (Joy and Dupe) and explained the whole thing to them and they were super excited. They sat and wrote out all about what they like to do, and who their siblings are and asked questions about Canada. I'm going to be sending the letters on Monday!

(Roni, Dupe (Dook-bay) is on the left, and Joy is on the right. They both really really wanted to write to you, so I hope you're ready for two pen pals!!)

I have also been e-mailing my Dad (who is an elementary school teacher-librarian) and he said that the grade 1 class at his school would love to write letters back and forth with some the kids here. Of course I said YES!

So Ms. McCan's grade 1 class? Here are the letters I helped some of the kids write. Write some of your own and e-mail them to me, and I can show them to the kids, and maybe we can start something!

The kids writing are Taiwo & Kehinde (twin girls), Samuel & Elizabeth (twins), Isaiah & Esther (twins) and Sunday.

I think its so cool that these kids can write back and forth to each other. I feel blessed to be a part of this international community!

Rain!

So I keep meaning to put this on here, but it rained about a week ago.

HOORAY! (The air is noticeably cooler. Halleujah!)

Hikes/Zoos/Beaches

Hello!! This past week has been a blast! The kids are in between terms, so they have two weeks of holidays (which means two weeks of getting to hang out with them all the time). That means that it's 75% really sweet, awesome times with them, and it's 25% OHMYGOODNESSTHESEKIDSAREDRIVINGMECRAZY!!!! I think all you teachers out there know what I mean. When you have a group of about 20 kids, things can get a little hairy, or they can be absolutely wonderful!

Anyways, during these weeks off, the manager and I have planned several outings to keep the kids occupied.

Tuesday: Olumo Rock

Olumo Rock is this huge boulder that sticks out of the ground in Abeokuta. It was once a hiding place for Egba warriors and their families during a tribal war hundreds of years ago, and the descendants of the warriors still live there. It was kind of nice to be a "tourist" and listen to some guy tell us about the history of the place, and then enjoy the magnificent view from the top.

I am also a bit of a local celebrity. Because I am so obviously foreign, all the african guys line up to take pictures with me. Not even kidding a little bit. Sort of strange, but nice at the same time!

Thursday: University of Ibadan Zoo

So when I was brainstorming of cool places to go for kids, I could not think of anything better than the zoo. (I will admit, I was also extremely excited to see all the awesome African animals!)

We walked around and saw various monkeys, warthogs, lions, chimpanzees, owls, peacocks, crocodiles, camels, giraffes and ostriches. It was pretty awesome, and the kids loved (plus it tired them out... BONUS!)

Sunday: Bar Beach

Today, we woke up early, had church at Chiprom, and then set out for Lagos (which is a two hour drive away) at 10. We got there at lunch time, and walked across the long white sand to get to the ocean. Most of the kids were amazed at the waves coming onto the sand, and kept asking me "Is it going to sweep my legs away?"

The kids were content to just play in the sand and run back and forth in the waves. Some men with horses came up to us and we paid so we could take pictures on their horses. Then we rented an umbrella and some chairs so we could eat our rice and fish out of the sun. I'm a little sun burnt, but it was a fun day at the beach!

So far it has been a great break for the kids. This upcoming week is also a break for them, but it will consist more of studying and preparing for the next term, so we don't have many outings planned. We will probably be going swimming some time this week to make up for missing it on Saturday (I had a wee bit of a headache/cough and it rained, so we stayed home).

I am really loving it here! Thanks for reading!

Peace,

Sierra

Ibukun Laughing

Okay, I've fixed the problem. Enjoy!!

Children of CHIPROM: Ibukun

Say hello to Ibukun (Ee-boo-koon). His name means blessing in Yoruba, and he is the greatest little almost-2-year-old on the planet.

He doesn't go to school during the days, so I get to hang out with him and Favor until everyone else returns. He runs around, laughing and giggling, occasionally crying, and sometimes sleeping. He has chicken pox right now, so pray that he won't scratch too much and he will be healed up soon!

He is also very bow-legged. A lot of people grow out of this as they get older, but I have seen a few people walking around Ibadan with bow-legs that look very uncomfortable and noticeable. Pray that Ibukun's legs will straighten naturally, and that he will be able to run around without being hindered by his legs.

{If you want to read other Children of CHIPROM posts, click here to go to the list of names.}

HE IS ALIVE!

Happy Easter everyone!! JESUS IS ALIVE! LET'S CELEBRATE!!

Easter service was somewhat uneventful here, as we celebrated in the home with singing, dancing and a message about His love and grace for us. Some of the other girls went to another church service later, and had to leave early because the service was stretching on 'til after lunch. Apparently, thats a normal occurrence during holidays in Nigeria. Services that would usually be only two hours stretch out to four or five.




It was exciting to celebrate Jesus' resurrection with twenty Nigerian children though! God truly loves these kids, and they know it and thank him for it every day. It's an infectious attitude!

The kids have also started their holiday between terms. This entire week is off from school for them, so we are heading out on different outings (the beach/zoo/hiking trip). I'm pretty excited about that! I'll update you about it as it goes on.

We also went swimming again on Saturday, and this time it went a lot more smoothly. I split the kids into much smaller groups, and took them a few at a time. We did our bubbles, our floats and some of the little ones even let me dunk with them!

I also had the opportunity last week to visit a local school called Crestwood Nursery/Primary school. It is run by one of the Chiprom board members, Mrs. Odunjo. She showed me around the school, and showed me their classrooms, and what they were learning, and then invited me to teach them! That was pretty awesome. I drew a world map on the board, and then showed them where Nigeria was, where Canada was, and things of that nature. The kids just ate it up. I think that visiting that school may become a part of my regular schedule (which the inner teacher inside of me is excited about!)

Nigerian Life: Driving

Oh man, oh man! The driving here is utterly opposite of Canadian driving. I mean, swerving all over the non existent centre line to avoid pot holes and pedestrians, slowing down from 80 to 20 to survive a speed bump (either an intentional one, or one made by cracked pavement).

One also has to careful of Okadas (street bikes) which may come ripping beside you, carrying up to four people!! And you have to watch out for pedestrians and hawkers who are trying to sell things at the side of the road.

I made this video over the few weeks that I've been here.

I'm not saying that Canadian driving is better, I'm just highlighting how Nigerian driving is different. It's always an adventure heading out in the bus!

Enjoy!

Children of CHIPROM: Kehinde

Kehinde is literally the cutest thing I have ever set eyes on.

I mean, look at those lips!
Kehinde is a beautiful four year old boy who loves to cuddle me whenever I sit down, and often cries if he can't sit beside me. He has a huge gut laugh, and it often surprises me that such a jolly sound could come from such a small kid!

Kehinde also has sickle cell anemia. Whenever this guy gets sick, they have to rush him to the hospital to make sure that he is going to survive. I haven't seen this side of him during my stay, but rather the lively little boy that I know he is.

Please pray for him, and that God would miraculously heal him. And if you feel that God has placed a call on your heart to donate to CHIPROM on behalf of Kehinde, feel free to contact any of CHIPROM's offices. His medical bills can be very expensive, but CHIPROM knows that every penny is worth it for this little one's life.

{If you want to read the other Children of CHIPROM posts, click here to go to the list of names.}

Party Party Time

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I'm still figuring out the routine here, so I haven't had much time for blogging. But here I am!

This past week has been a lot of driving kids to school, moving things around in the house and learning how to work without electricity (or running water on some days). It is definitely a growth curve for me!

This weekend, however, was anything but ordinary. Mrs. Idowu's mom turned 80 on Saturday, and we threw a gigantic birthday party for her! The funny thing is, I thought it was pretty big (around 100 people), but with African standards, it was a small and intimate setting :)

It started out with lots of speeches from friends and family to the birthday lady. Even though I couldn't understand most of them, I could tell that this lady is truly loved.

Then, we transitioned into lunch time, which was a combination of plantains, rice, chicken and something that appeared to be spicy bread cooked inside a leaf envelope. I have no idea what it was!

After this, we had a dance party. At first, it was just me and one other lady who was teaching me how to "dance like an African". (Needless to say, I was embarrassed out of my mind!! Like I said, it as only me and one other person. AHH!) And then the kids joined in and it was a real dance party. No one knows how to dance quite like a Nigerian ten year old.

{Here's a picture of me with my new african dress, and some of the kids. Sorry for not putting up more pictures, but I shot in a really high quality setting for the birthday party, so the pictures are haaayyyuuuuggeee and won't upload with this internet even if I were here for ten years. I'll try to fix that though!}

Sunday was another relatively quiet day. It rained for something like five minutes (which was extremely exciting!!) Let's hope thats a foreshadowing of things to come soon.

But as much as I want rain, I am earnestly praying that it won't flood the city. The more I drive around, the more I see that the drainage systems that are in place haven't been maintained. In fact, I saw an overflow pond that was built to take on the excess area running off the roads, and it was still completely bogged up from last years rain.

So here's a prayer list for you. I figured that since I made this blog to keep everyone updated, I might as well give you the relevant prayer topics!

• that the rain (when it comes) will NOT flood Ibadan, but instead quench the heat
• that the children will continue to stay healthy (the chicken pox are pretty much gone from the girls who had it!)
• thank God that I have been healthy (haven't had any problems so far.. let's pray it stays that way)
• thank God that I'm starting to understand the schedule a little better, and that this place is starting to feel like home
• also pray that the Boko Haram will dissolve. I'm not sure how much has been in the news about them in North America, but they are all over the place here. I didn't realize how much of a problem they were until I arrived. Ibadan hasn't had to deal with them, but there is a lot of struggle in the North. Every few days, we hear on the radio that the Boko Haram have killed another government official, or someone important. It's awful. Pray that peace would come back to Nigeria, and that the Boko Haram would just disappear. They are basically the Al Qaeda of Africa, which is pretty scary.
• keep praying that God is going to use me and this ministry in a mighty way!!

Peace,

Sierra

Children of CHIPROM

I want to start this new (hopefully weekly) section on my blog where I write a profile on each of the kids. There are seventeen children here at CHIPROM (and there are four sets of twins). I want to profile one child (or pair of twins) each Wednesday.

The names and ages of the kids are as follows.
Success - under 0
Favor - 1
Ibukun - 2
Kehinde - 4
Michael & Joshua - 4
Elizabeth & Samuel - 6
Isaiah & Esther - 7
Taiwo & Kehinde - 8
Dupe - 9
Tayo - 9
Joy - 10
Dolapo - 11
Glory - 12
Seun - 13

Today, I want to profile Seun (Shay-oon). She is a beautiful thirteen year old girl who has been such a big help to me as I transition to living in Nigeria. Because she is the oldest in home, she is basically another mother to the children and has to help them with getting ready in the morning as well as getting herself out the door. She is a diligent worker and studies extremely hard. She often asks me several times a day to run over her studies with her so she can be ready for her exams. She is smart, she is beautiful and she has been a great friend to me. Pray that God continues to change her life, and that she continues to be a loud and proud woman of God as she grows older.

Swimming

Hello again!

So it is the beginning of another week here in Ibadan, and I have been here at CHIPROM for 9 days. On Saturday I was able to take the kids to the pool for their first swimming lesson. It was crazy!

The pool we were using is shallow on either side and then gets very deep in the middle. The bottom is also very slippery, so even if one of the kids were standing all on their own, they could still slip under very easily. I had to be very careful!

I brought eight of the seventeen children with me, as well as Mr. Idowu's two daughters (who already knew how to swim). The others had been in a splash pool before, but this was their first experience with a large body of water. 

I got them all to the edge, and I was taking them in one by one and then setting them back on the side. Somehow though, they all started slipping in on their own, and started moving over to the other side of the pool (not over the deep area, but still!). Needless to say, those thirty seconds were pretty hectic. Some kids were trying on their own and then slipping and grabbing other kids, and yanking them under with them. It ended with me having every single child (except one) holding on to me! They thought the ride was fun, but I was a little frazzled.

We got to the other side, and this time they stayed on the side, and I took them one by one. We worked on bubbles and kicking, and then I sent 6 of them to the small splash pool (it was basically a puddle). I kept four of the older girls and worked with them on their bubbles and dunking. They were better listeners and we actually got some things accomplished. After that, we showered off and got dry.

There were a few ladies there who had heard me speaking to the children, and asked me if this was an NGO, and where it was and what I was doing. It's pretty cool that I can be a living advertisement for CHIPROM while I am here because I'm so white. They even got a picture with me! (Sometimes I feel like a celebrity. I even had a lady hold her baby so she could take a picture of me with him!!)  

Also, as far as the weather goes, last night was refreshingly cool (even without my fan). It was truly a blessing. I had my first truly deep, peaceful sleep since I've been to CHIPROM, and I feel great this morning! 

And, of course, there are a lot of bugs. The funny thing is I don't really see them until they are dead (which sort of freaks me out). These little guys are what greet me in the morning! (But don't worry, I sleep with a net around my bed). Sometimes I find myself forgetting just how tropical and foreign a place I'm in, and then I get these friendly reminders every so often. Hahaha!

Anyways, I had a really good weekend with the kids, and I hope you did too! I'm still waiting for rain, but the weather itself has cooled down some, so I'm not as desperate. :)

I hope everyone is doing well at home, and thank you for reading!

Peace,

Sierra

(P.S. I got my hair plaited!

My hair goes from the wet to fluffy in abo 6.5 seconds, so I decided to take the plunge and get my hair plaited. It cost about an hour and a few fistfuls of hair, but I've got these great braids running all down the back of my head now! We'll see how long I can keep it in for!)

Pray for Rain!!

Hello again!

This post is all about the weather. And by weather, I mean intense heat without air conditioning or fans. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to fall asleep inside an oven!

I was listening to the radio while going with the children to school, and the host was apologizing for the intense heat Nigeria is experiencing. He said that usually it's not this bad.

And the other thing is there is a constant haze, which makes everything exponentially hotter. If you look at the picture below, it says 29 at night, but feels like 43. Which makes my room feel like death in a box.

So as you can see, we're breaking some records over here! I know Canada has been pretty warm as of late, but I think Ibadan takes the cake. 

The only hope I have now is rain. And I mean a nice long, cool rain. For the first time in my life, I have been praying for rain constantly. I now understand why people make rain dances! (I've got to be honest with you: I have contemplated doing this many times).

And look what I've got coming my way! I just hope that it's enough to truly cool down the city. If we only get a little, it will evaporate and make it muggier (=hotter). Please pray that God will bless us with rain! (I want to be able to sleep again!)

In other news, the routine is getting better. At first I felt pretty useless, not understanding the language, and not knowing what was happening when. But now I realize that they intentionally left me to do not much for the first week to get accustomed to the temperature and the food.

Today, I received my first project, which was to clean out the toy corner in the play room, and throw out broken ones, bring in new ones and organize it all. We put all the toys in the cupboard (pictured above) and then locked it so the little ones couldn't rip everything out as soon as they came home from school. It's good to feel useful, and Mr. Idowu said that he is going to give me more projects and outings to go on as I stay here. What an answer to prayer!

Anyways, I'd like to end this with a happy list (inspired by Allie).

1. the international phone I have to call my mom at 2 in the morning here to ask her to pray for me and the heat

2. the internet I can use to Skype and email my parents every day (call me a mama's kid, but its' true)

3. the brief bout of electricity this afternoon while making a puzzle inside

4. the promise of rain

5. the dancing, singing, happy children around me all the time

6. the project I was given to do

7. the nutella my mom packed for me

8. the healing of the girls with chicken pox (they've had it since I arrived, and they've had a pretty rough time of it)

9. the food I've been eating (I thought I would be overwhelmed with the spicy taste, but it has been pretty awesome so far)

10. the continued support of my friends, family and people I haven't even met who are just contacting me now to share their excitement for what I am doing

For all of you back in Canada, I love you, I miss you, I would love to talk to you, and I envy your cool nights :)

Peace, 

Sierra

P.S. Don't forget to pray for just the right amount RAIN!

"Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field."

Zechariah 10:1

Dancing in the Airport

I am using this post to make good on a promise to my friend Jess. I told her I would dance in the airport with the special dance we made together.

This is for you, Jess!

I'm Here!

I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting to hear this..

I'M HERE AND I'M SAFE!!

I flew out on Thursday, March 15 and arrived in Amsterdam at 2 in the morning Canadian time, and 7 in the morning Dutch/Nigerian time. I sat in that airport for 4 and 1/2 hours waiting for my connecting flight to Lagos, Nigeria. There were no problems getting on that plane, and I was blessed with having a South African commercial diver to talk to sitting on my right, and an empty seat on my left. We landed in Nigeria at around 7:30 pm, and I was greeted by one of the CHIPROM workers and Mrs. Idowu, who helped me and Mr. Idowu carry our bags to the car. (SIDE NOTE: I was a little worried that there would be problems with my luggage, but I was blessed and had everything transported to the right places and did not lose anything!)

That night, we stayed at a hotel in Lagos because the drive to Ibadan is 2 hours long, and the roads are treacherous at night because there are no street lights on the highways.

We left for Nigeria around noon, and arrived at CHIPROM at 2 in the afternoon. The driving was pretty crazy, but I will blog about that another time! I was introduced to the children, who sang a song to welcome me, and then set up my room that night. I had fried plantains with ketchup for supper, and went to sleep in my newly painted room.

My room has two beds in it (the one is to the right in the picture, with my suitcases on it). There are three windows because it is at one end of the volunteer building, and it gets a pretty good breeze if the windows are open. To keep cool (because frankly, it's hot here) I put the fan on and leave it blowing on my face all night long. However, the electricity is very spotty in Nigeria, so sometimes I wake up all sweaty and gross because the fan turned off sometime in the middle of the night. There are definitely a lot of things to get used to here!

As for the other CHIPROM workers, there are 6 "mommies" who work on a rotation schedule. When I arrived, I met three of them, and this Monday afternoon they switched, and I met the other three. The reason they have this schedule is so that they can go back to their homes and take care of their own families. These ladies sacrifice a lot of time to be with these kids!

And that brings us to the kids. They are wonderful! Sometimes, they just start praising the Lord for no reason! One of the kids is named Sunday, and his nickname is Pastor Sunday because he loves to preach about God so often. Can it get any better than that?

Anyways, I am growing to love it here. There are a LOT of things to get used to, but at the same time, I need to constantly remind myself why I am here. I am here to serve the Lord, and to do that by serving these children. If that means that all I can do is play with them for a few hours in a day and help them with their homework, then that is what it means. Being a North American, I crave a schedule and a task. However, here the schedule is very fluid and changes quite often, and because of the language barrier (most people here speak Yoruba as their first language)  I am often left in the dark about what's going on. But I have to be patient and learn to deal with it. And I also need to remind myself that I have a lot of time to figure this stuff out. I still have 80 days!

I would like to say to all my family and friends that I love you and your support. If I'm ever feeling useless or confused as to why I am here, I think about how many people have affirmed me in this calling, and all the love and support that was given to me. I'm on the right track, but it's not an easy one, and I thank you guys for encouraging me to continue doing this.

I promise to take more pictures of the kids for the next post! And don't be afraid to write me at sierravanarragon@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you and answer any questions you have!

Peace,

Sierra

Again!

I'm in the Barrie Advance as well!

(Hahaha! My dad's head got chopped off in the scan! Woops)

Click the picture below to get to the online story. Enjoy your reading!